Page 64 of Sean

Did she?

Her mind continued to wander as she finished the book. The last scene was of the mommy and daddy putting the two kids to bed after their fun day together. The parents kissed the children goodnight and held hands as they left the room. The tears she’d been fighting back all day suddenly rose with such vehemence that she had to gulp them down.

“I need to…I’ve got something in my…” She set Amos aside and slipped into the bathroom to splash water on her face. As she closed the bathroom door, she caught her mother’s expression. Charlotte had seen Julia’s anguish. And she probably understood the reason for it. Despite Charlotte’s warning, Julia had gotten attached to the idea of a home here, a life the family in the book had. As much as she knew it was silly to be jealous of a fictious rendering of happiness, she couldn’t help herself. She knew what she wanted.

And now she knew she couldn’t have it.

THIRTY-THREE

Knowing that his SEAL buddies and their women were arriving later that day drove Sean to new levels of obsession about the ranch’s security. It had to be a fortress. With that in, mind he’d already changed the gate code and provided it only to the people who absolutely had to access the ranch in the next few days.

His background checks on the employees had netted nothing to be concerned about. A few of them had speeding tickets and one had a dismissed drunk and disorderly charge from twenty years ago. No one had had any conflicts with Kelly or Tara, and there was no reason to think any of them could be bribed or coerced into doing anything to harm the family. In the past few hours, he’s spoken to each one individually and provided them all with a picture of Wilson and instructions what to do if they spotted him.

After that, he’d moved onto looking for weak points in the perimeter. The ranch wasn’t completely secure, nor could it be. The acres that fronted the road were all fenced, but it was the white fencing typical of horse farms—meant to keep in horses rather than keep out humans. He was missing the razor wire that surrounded many of the bases he’d spent time on both in and out of the country.

He stood near the spot where he and Julia had argued the previous night, trying to focus on what else he could do. The trails that led to the cabin eventually connected with a state forest. There was no way to secure them. Someone could access the ranch from there, but they’d have to be ambitious and knowledgeable about the area. He didn’t see Wilson hiking miles of trail to reach them.

But even as he tried to focus on security, his mind kept going back to the things he’d said, the hurt look on her face…the way she’d called him out for being a coward.

Maybe she was right, but he didn’t see a way around it. He knew how easy it was to lose himself in grief, and he couldn’t set himself up to have that happen again.

He’d pushed his boundaries by reconnecting with his family, and as difficult as that might be at times, he’d maintain a link to his parents, sisters, and nieces, even when this ordeal was over. But Julia expected too much from him. He didn’t have it in him to meet her expectations. And where had those come from anyhow? She’d been the one to say that their affair should be private and brief. When had she started looking for happily ever after with him?

He felt the tightness in his chest again and did what he could to push any thoughts of Julia aside. He had a job to finish, a promise to his friends that he’d keep her safe. When that was done, he’d do what he could to put her out of his mind.

At that moment, a pickup truck, followed immediately by a car, entered the property. He’d memorized the vehicles that came and went on a daily basis. These were new to him, so he had to assume that it was Owen and Ethan arriving. He’d texted them the code for the gate. When he could see the drivers, he smiled—glad his friends had safely arrived.

Owen got out of the pickup and headed straight toward him. When he was in arm’s length, he pulled him in for a bro hug.

“Good to see you, man,” Owen said, slapping his back. “It’s been a while.”

“Any problems on the road?” Sean asked.

“Smooth sailing. Come meet Sophie.”

Just then, Julia burst from the house and flew toward the women who were getting out of the vehicles. The three women crashed together into a tangled hug, laughing and crying at the same time.

“Guess they’re glad to see each other.” Ethan joined Owen and Sean. “I’m sure as hell glad to see you.”

Sean met Sophie and Helen and then introduced everyone to his family as they came from the house. Kids ran around them in circles, and the moment turned into joyful chaos despite the seriousness of what they were up against. After that, the rest of them went inside, leaving Sean, Ethan, and Owen on the porch to talk.

Sean grabbed beers from the garage fridge and leaned on the porch rail. He wanted to review security protocols and determine a guard schedule. He started with a briefing about the ranch: entrances, vulnerable points, and other concerns he had. Ethan and Owen listened and asked questions. It felt like they were about to embark on a mission, which they were in a way.

“What aren’t you telling us?” Ethan asked eventually. “You’re more worried than I would have expected.”

“I am,” he admitted. “When Wilson wounded Julia, he didn’t care that he took a shot across a parking lot. Other people were there, getting in or out of cars at the time. I don’t know how much experience he has with firearms, but I know that he showed zero caution. He shot like he had nothing to lose. So yeah, that worries me. The bullet that grazed Julia could have easily been a direct hit.” The thought left a pit in his stomach.

“We’ve been dealing with Wilson and his cronies for a couple of months now,” Ethan said. “He’s becoming less predictable. Helen’s worried about that. She thought she knew him pretty well from having worked for him, but even she says she has no idea what he might do next.”

“Have you figured out why he’s been so fixated on Julia and getting his kids back?” Owen asked. “From what I’ve heard, it didn’t sound like he cared much about being a dad before all of this.”

“He needs his kids so he can get the money he’s stored away under their names. Once he gets that, he’ll abandon them immediately.” Or worse. Amos and Lucy appeared to mean nothing to their father. How any man could have that attitude about such sweet kids? Sean couldn’t fathom.

“We’ll keep them safe, and everyone else, too,” Owen said. His usual easy smile was replaced by an expression of grim determination.

“Once Wilson’s out of the picture, you and Julia can find your way forward again,” Ethan said.

“Huh?” Sean shot him a look. “What’s that mean?”

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